Dusk

A brief moment of calm in a busy day re-organizing our living room / dining room / office to make space for the Christmas tree, which Pete and I bought yesterday. We also needed to make sure we could fit eight people round the table for Christmas Day!

Ben and Sarah joined us in the evening to help dress the tree - I'm now happy to sit back and let the younger generation do most of the work! We revved up the festive vibe with mulled wine and Christmas music - though the Indian meal wasn't terribly traditional. Some home-cooked dishes (Saag Paneer, Pilau Rice and Lamb Podina) worked well with a Waitrose meal deal!

After dinner we all spoke to Chris and Lizzy via a Whatsapp call, the first time we've spoken in person since they set off for South America on 20th October. Everything has gone to plan so far - the next stage of their trip is possibly going to be one of their most exciting adventures. They're heading down to Ushuaia,  the end of the world, and have managed to get a (relatively) cheap last minute booking on a cruise to Antarctica. Quite a big present for Chris's 32nd birthday, celebrated yesterday in an overheated bus station!!